We knew that the universe would exact some kind of punishment on Dan Stevens for leaving Downton Abbey—as our friend Newt Gingrich noted, “the very moment [Matthew and Mary] had achieved happiness.” That punishment, it turns out, is endless iterations of the same question about his startling post-Matthew makeover (even though his dyed-brown hair and weight loss have already been attributed to a Liam Neeson film in which Stevens plays a drug kingpin/heroin user).

A sampling of the maddening makeover-related explanations Stevens was forced to give over the past month:

“It’s for a role,” Stevens explained to In Style, deftly trying to transition the conversation back to his career. “It’s a really nice [cast] and we’re having a lot of fun. . . . It’s a bit of a self-made disguise.”

Congratulations, great, etc. But would he dye his hair back to Matthew’s angelic blond?, we asked several days ago. “We’ll see what comes up next,” Stevens responded, “see what’s required, really. . . But, you know, it’s fun to mix it up a little.”

Just this week, Vulture dug deeper on the subject at an event in New York City, getting Stevens to admit, “I’ve just started living a bit healthier since living here.” Again, bringing the conversation back to his career, he continued, “Also, my look needed to change for the movie I’m filming right now [A Walk Among the Tombstones with Liam Neeson]. It all sort of happened at once. It’s quite fun to have a bit of a change. I’ve given up drinking, and I’m just eating a lot healthier.”

The overwhelming attention to his appearance is enough to make an actor hoping to forge a new, post–Downton Abbeyidentity snap, as Stevens seemed to do at the A.P. last month. “Really?” Stevens said to a reporter who mentioned the world’s fascination with the makeover. “OK, I suppose. There’s so much else going on in the world.”